You'd Better
by catgirld86
Summary: On her next birthday, Ran gets a big surprise. And it's not unpleasent. Oneshot, Shin/Ran. Japanese names. Please review!


HI!!!! 2nd fic. Please Enjoy.

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Three years.

That's how long ago that Ran Mouri had last seen her best friend, and the boy she had grown to love. That first year, he had called about once a month, talking mostly about himself. But then, his calls had gotten fewer and fewer, until they never came.

Every night after those calls, she would cry herself to sleep, because her heart couldn't stand to be without him. And sometimes she cried anyway, because she missed him and wanted him home. But none the less she cried, fearing that the boy she loved, longed for, who hardly called, had forgotten her.

Well, that's what she assumed anyways. What are you supposed to think when some one never calls? But regardless of that fact, a part of her still hoped he hadn't forgotten her when he left. To those who didn't know her, she looked to have given up and moved on years ago. But those who knew her discouraged her already fading hope.

The Year of the Phone Calls, as she called it, was the year she realized she needed him with her. It was the time that people doubted him, and the importance of others to him. All except her. In The First Year Without, many had said he had disappeared or died, or had bitten off more than he could chew. All except her.

In The Second Year Without, Sonoko Suzuki, her best bud, had told her that if he hadn't called her, he never would, that she was an idiot for waiting, and that she should just give up on him and get a new guy. But she hadn't.

In The Third Year Without, the year that would be ending soon, her father had told her that he had forgotten about her if she hadn't heard from him by then, and he had probably picked up a new girl to mess around with. And he wasn't even drunk when he said it.

And so, Ran Mouri had clung to a desperate hope, even when all others had scorned her for her blind faith. And in that blind faith, she turned to the two things that could rebuild her hope, if only for a few seconds.

The first one had come in The Year of the Phone Calls. Little Conan Edogawa had always been there when she needed comfort. After her phone calls with him, he would be there, ready to offer a comforting hug and convincing words that he actually did care for her. Somehow, Conan always knew what to do to make her feel better, or what she needed to hear to refuel her faith in the boy she loved.

Sometimes she even wondered if Conan was actually him, however impossible it may sound. He thought like him, acted like him, sounded like him, and even looked like him. And Conan appeared when he left, and vice versa. But just when she was about to ask Conan about it, something would happen to totally annihilate her theory.

But even Conan had left. In the beginning of The Second Year Without, Conan's parents had retrieved him to take him home. For good. She hadn't heard from him since.

The second thing she had turned to a month after Conan had left. She hadn't been able to sleep one night, and so at a very late hour, she got dressed and took a walk. She didn't know where she had been going, or even why she had gone there. But she had. She had walked to his house.

To Shinichi Kudo's house.

But oddly enough, being there didn't fill her with sorrow or anger, like one would expect. Instead, she found some kind of hope. His possession's were in his house, right? So one day he would have to retrieve them, right? So one day, whether it was ten days or ten years from then, he would come get them. And she would watch the house for any signs of life.

Soon, she took a walk every night to the house, hoping that the man she loved hadn't forgotten her. But he never showed, and the house grew dusty with disuse. But she still hoped desperately to see any sign that he was back. And every night at midnight her hope flared, only to dim a little lower than it was before.

And had she been able to go to the house that night, she might have seen the lights on for only a few minutes, and a figure running full stride away from it in the general direction of her home.

But she hadn't been able to, because her friend Sonoko had decided to take her clubbing for the entire night, with her drunken father's permission, of course. After all, it was December 21, and what girl should sit at home on her twenty-first birthday?

But that's what Ran had been doing that night. She and Sonoko had gone to club "Blood Red" for her birthday. Selena had told her to get a boyfriend at the club, but every guy she looked at reminded her of Shinichi.

'That guy has a hair color similar to Shinichi's, but Shinichi's was lighter,' or 'his eyes are blue, but Shinichi's were an icy blue,' or 'they have the same face shape, but Shinichi is way younger than him.'

And so, three hours after arriving, they left. Sonoko had called a taxi to pick her up from the club, because of the incoming blizzard. Amy had refused Sonoko's offer to take her home, and set out in the direction of her home, three inches of snow already on the ground, five more expected within the hour, and it snowing so hard she could barely see.

When she arrived home, the blizzard had officially settled over Tokyo, and the five inches expected had turned into ten, the same estimation for the next hour. As she climbed the steps to her door, she saw the outline of a man, leaning against the door. He was standing, and shivering visibly. She didn't know why he was there, but she could tell he didn't have good intentions. What man would stand outside with a blizzard going on at one in the morning? Not a good one. She took a few cautious steps forward, but the man seemed not to notice her. In fact, on further inspection, he seemed to be asleep.

Well, if he was asleep, it meant he was an easier target to hit. Ran raised her leg to kick him, and shot her leg out towards him with all her might. Direct hit to the head. The man gave an almost inaudible gasp in shock and reached for his head.

He started to rub his head, and seemed to look at Ran, or at least in her direction. She was about to attack again when a familiar, slightly angry voice stopped her.

"D-d-dammit, R-r-an! D-do you kick all your v-v-visitors in the head?" the voice belonged to a friend. More than a friend, in fact. That voice was unmistakable, and belonged to only one person.

It was Shinichi Kudo's voice.

The man chose that moment to step toward her, close enough that she could make out his facial features. The brown hair worn in an unusual way, big ears, and the ice blue eyes. His mouth was in the shape of that playful smirk that she knew and loved, and had seen all her life. He was wearing a blue suit and red bow-tie. Classic Shinichi clothes.

It was him.

"Shinichi? Is that you? Why-how-but-I-you're shivering." she noted that it wasn't a light shiver, either. It could turn into hypothermia any minute.

"Yeah, R-r-an. It's m-me. I'm b-b-back. I'm sh-sh-shivering b-because I r-raced over here, n-not expecting th-this b-bli-blizzard, or that D-d-detective M-m-mouri w-wouldn't let me in, or th-that y-you w-weren't home." He had been rubbing his head injury up until this point, but then he started to collapse. He steadied himself on the doorframe, then looked at her expectantly. He looked almost unconscious, and it was hard to understand him.

Despite her desire to bash his head in for not calling her for three years, she knew he needed help. And soon. There wouldn't be time for an ambulance, and besides, it would have one hell of a time trying to use the roads.

She made to open the door, but stopped when she heard the "T-t-tried that. It's l-l-locked" and grabbed her key from her handbag, then unlocked the door. She helped him in, past Conan's old room, and into her own.

Conan's room didn't have a bed in it anymore, and her father's was occupied, so the next logical choice was her bed. She laid him on it, then tried to remember what little she knew about hypothermia.

1) Get them someplace sheltered, away from the cold, wet, and windy. Check. 2) Get them in a warm environment. Not check. Detective Mouri had forgotten to pay the heating bill, and it was considerably colder, even with the space heaters. But it was supposed to come on around nine in the morning.

3) If they have wet clothes on, take them off and put dry ones on. Luckily, he wasn't wet. Check. 4) Put them in a bed or cot, and cover them in dry blankets. She turned to face the now unconscious Shinichi. He was in her bed, but only the usual blankets were covering him. She fetched some dry blankets and covered him. Check.

5) Lay under the covers with them in hopes of transferring your own body heat. Well, if it would save his life so she could bash his skull in later, she was all for it.

It was only when she lay down did the stress of her day catch up with her, and she realized how tired she was. What with the club, Sonoko, her birthday, seeing Shinichi, and his case of hypothermia, she was dead tired.

'Maybe a ... (yawn) short nap ... wouldn't hurt. I'll get an explanation in the morning.' and Ran fell asleep, her arm on his chest, her head on his shoulder.

It was several hours later when Ran woke up. She looked around to see it was still dark out, and her bed was empty except for her. She sighed, thinking it was all a dream. But what else could it be? Why would her detective suddenly return after three years, and on that night? And Shinichi not thinking about something? Impossible. It was all a dream. And as she realized this, she started to cry.

She lay back down on her side of the bed, her tears slowly falling down her face. She closed her eyes, and tried to forget how happy she was in her dream, along with how angry and sad. But the sagging of the bed on the other side caught her attention.

'Oh please, let him really be here!' the girl thought, as the mattress shifted again, and the tears fell harder. But through all of this, her eyes remained closed, desperately clinging to the hope she had. Until she felt a gentle hand caress her cheek, wiping the tears away.

Her eyes snapped open, only to reveal Shinichi Kudo in person. His blue eyes were staring straight into hers, only love and longing identifiable. And only when she saw him now did it really hit her: Shinichi had come home. He was back, and hopefully wouldn't leave anytime soon.

"Ran, why are you crying? I'm here." he said to her, his hand still caressing her cheek.

"Oh Shinichi!" she sobbed as she threw herself onto him, crying into his chest. All he did was wrap an arm around her waist and pull her closer to him while his other arm stroked her hair. She sobbed for a few minutes until she calmed down enough to ask, "Why are you here?"

He pulled her even closer as he answered, "To wish you a happy birthday, and to tell you the truth. About why I've been gone." And it was the truth, for he had come to tell her that he had been Conan.

"You remembered? Thank you. But that still doesn't get you off the hook for your unexplained absences. If I were you I'd get talking. And why are you in a tan suit?" Rachel had been shocked when he remembered, but then got angry when he reminded her that he had been gone. A lot. Then curious to find he was in a different suit.

And in the same position, he began his tale. Albeit a "shortened" one. "When I ran off at Tropical Island, it was because I saw those men in black acting very suspicious. I followed them. It turns out, they were part of the Black Organization. You remember, that gang that was brought down awhile ago.

"But I had been so absorbed in what I was seeing, I didn't notice another guy come up behind me and hit me with something. I was then slipped an experimental poison, never before tested on humans. I went unconscious, and when I woke up, I was a little kid again.

"The poison, actually called APTX, was a drug designed to kill and be untraceable in an autopsy. But it failed. I couldn't let anyone know who I was, so I took on a pseudonym: Conan Edogawa. I moved in with you, since your dad is a detective, to get leads on the men. When Conan left last year, it was because their hideout had been discovered.

"Dr. Agasa, Heiji, Kaito, Ai, and I became a team and took them down. Then Ai was able to get the exact ingredients of the poison, and create an antidote. I was the only one who needed to take it, Ai wishing to relive her life. And so, I took the permanent cure.

"But something went wrong. I slipped into a coma, and woke up on December 19, this year. After being declared normal again, I ran out to your house at like, eleven. I didn't want to miss your birthday. I was so scared that I'd be there after midnight, I totally ignored the weather. And, well, here we are now. Oh, I changed into your dad's old suit because my other clothes were a little small."

After Shinichi's confession, they sat still for about 5 seconds before Ran fired a round of questions at him.

"You were Conan? The whole time? Who's Kaito and Ai? Why were you in a coma? And why didn't you tell me? Wait, you mean you told Heiji before you told me? Why?" as she spoke her grip on him became less of an affectionate gesture and more of a death grip.

"Yes, I was Conan. The whole time. You know Ai, that little girl staying with Dr. Agasa. She's just like I was, shrunk down. But it was her choice, and now she wants to relive her life. She also created the poison. And Kaito, well, it's best if you don't know who he is just yet.

"We don't know why I was in a coma, but we're guessing it was some unpredicted reaction to the antidote. And no, I didn't tell Heiji. He guessed, then threatened to tell you if I didn't admit he was right. He found out on that Sherlock Holmes trip we took. And I didn't tell you because it would have put you in danger. Anything else?"

Ran loosened her grip on the boy, her arms falling limply to her side. She appeared to be crushed by some unknown force. And even Shinichi, who knew her so well, thought that she was. Until he heard her speak.

"You were Conan? And I didn't know. Wait... if you were Conan then..." her face went from broken to tomato red. "Then you... we bathed together! You pervert! But then you heard me say at the beginning...." her anger disappeared to reveal embarrassment.

Shinichi took her in his arms again, ignoring her weak struggles, and whispered into her ear, "Yes, I did. And I love you too, Ran."

Ran drew far enough away to look into his eyes. The words "You better," were the only words heard in the small room before his lips found hers.

THE END!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Hi! Loved how my story started, hate how it ended. The writing went from bad to worse. Well, enjoy anyway. Byes bye!


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